It goes without saying that keeping your children healthy is high on your parenting priority list. One of the best ways to stay proactive about your children's health is by working with Dr. Kenneth Kim, your Fairfax, VA, pediatrician, to ensure that they're up to date on their immunizations against potentially dangerous diseases. Dr. Kim has outlined the standard schedule of vaccines in this post.

Infants and toddlers

Babies who visit Dr. Kim for immunizations will receive a series of vaccines and boosters designed to protect them against tetanus, pertussis (also known as whooping cough), hepatitis, polio, and pneumonia. As they grow, your children will be immunized against chickenpox and MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella). Many of these vaccines are given in a series to reduce discomfort for your child and time spent in the doctor's office. Your Fairfax pediatrician follows the CDC's recommendation that parents to vaccinate their children against the flu each year once they reach six months of age; this is to avoid complications of this common cold-weather condition.

Children

Most of the immunizations your children will receive during their elementary school years are designed to boost the effectiveness of the ones they received in infancy. This is especially important as they enter kindergarten, as most schools require an updated vaccination record before they can be registered to attend.

Teenagers

The teen years are full of changes, and your child's immunization schedule is no exception. Starting at age 11, Dr. Kim encourages parents to protect their kids from contracting human papillomavirus, which has shown to cause reproductive cancer later in life, with a vaccination. Teens should also have their tetanus and pertussis vaccine updated, as well as be immunized against meningitis. This is of particular concern for young adults who are going away to college or otherwise living in close quarters where an outbreak can occur.